The Calcutta High Court has recently directed the Jute Commissioner of India to take steps to make raw jute available to mills at ₹6,500 per quintal and act against those selling it at a higher rate. Mill owners have hailed the High Court order which can pave way for resuming operations at mills in West Bengal. According to reports, about 16 mills have shut due to non-availability of raw materials, rendering about 50,000 workers jobless.
“The Jute Commissioner should take necessary steps to ensure that raw jute is available at the price mentioned in the September 30, 2021 notification,” a February 22 order by Justice Amrita Sinha said. The September 30, 2021 notification issued by the Jute Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, had fixed the price of jute at ₹6500 per quintal for 2021-22 till June 30, 2022.
The court had also directed that it will be open for the Jute Commissioner “to take all necessary steps against person(s), agency or company selling raw jute at an enhanced rate than that has been fixed in the notification”.
Mills file plea in HC
There are about 60 jute mills along the banks of the Hooghly river spread in districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly that employ over 2.5 lakh workers and several mills have shut their operations due to non-availability of raw jute at a price fixed by the government. A writ petition was filed by representatives of the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) seeking implementation of the last year’s notification by the Jute Commissioner. In December 2021, the IJMA representatives had written to the Jute Commissioner for compliance of the notification and then knocked the doors of the court. Jute Commissioner Moloy Chandra Chakraborty, in a letter to the president of the Jute Balers Association, in October 2021, had directed against publishing quotations exceeding the reasonable price fixed under statutory order.
“The court order is important on two counts that it directs the Jute Commissioner to take all steps against person(s), agency or company selling raw jute at an enhanced rate and takes cognisance of the December 28 letter and had adjudicated on it,” a Kolkata-based industrialist who runs jute mills in the State added.
Earlier this year, a meeting of representative of several trade unions, mill owners and both State and Central governments was held but no breakthrough could be achieved.
The case will come up for hearing on March 15.
